The invention relates to a rotary clutch assembly. More particularly, the invention relates to a rotary clutch assembly having interlocking hubs for connecting multiple rotary clutch assemblies together on a single shaft.
Rotary clutch assemblies are useful for applications in which a flexible member, such as a cable, rope, hose, conductor, electrical cord or the like (hereinafter referred to as the xe2x80x9ccablexe2x80x9d), is wound on a spool of a take-up reel assembly for storage when not in use, and which is paid out by unwinding the cable from the spool of the take-up reel assembly to the appropriate length required. The cable stored on the reel assembly may be used to carry any required type of matter, such as air, water, oil, grease, or electricity. A frame supports the clutch assembly and the reel assembly.
One example of an application for a rotary clutch assembly is temporarily supplying electrical power to an apparatus. An electrical power supply is electrically connected to the frame. The first end of the cable is electrically connected to the cable reel assembly for receiving electricity from the electrical power supply. The second end of the cable is electrically attached to a car, such as a scrap car in a steel mill, for supplying power to the car. As the car moves away from the reel, cable is paid out from the reel. When the car moves back toward the cable reel, the torsional spring acting on the cable reel rewinds the cable back onto the spool. When the temporary supply of electrical power is no longer required, the cable is detached from the apparatus and a torsional spring acting on the cable reel rewinds the cable onto the spool. The torque exerted by the torsional spring on the take-up reel assembly causes the paid-out cable to be taken-up by the spool.
In existing cable reel assembly applications, only one clutch assembly is used. Thus, the torque required by the application for which the cable reel assembly is to be used dictates the size of the clutch assembly. Accordingly, the larger the torque required, the larger the clutch assembly required to meet that demand. As the size of the clutch assembly increases radially, the size of the frame required to support the clutch assembly increases. Some cable reel assembly applications have space limitations. Thus, a large frame is not a viable option. A need exists for providing larger amounts of torque without greatly increasing the size of the frame.
Furthermore, meeting the torque demands for a variety of applications requires manufacturing of several different sized clutch assemblies, thereby increasing manufacturing costs and inventory. A need exists for a single clutch assembly that is capable of meeting the torque demands of a variety of applications while reducing manufacturing costs and keeping the amount of inventory small.
Examples of prior rotary clutch assemblies are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. No.: 2,902,125 to House et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,927 to Cornelius; U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,375 to Brown; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,453 to Hioki et al.
Thus, there is a continuing need to provide improved rotary clutch assemblies.
Accordingly, it is a primary objective to provide a single clutch assembly that meets the variety of torque demands required by different cable reel assembly applications, thereby reducing the required inventory of parts and decreasing the manufacturing costs.
Another object of the invention is to provide a clutch assembly mountable on a shaft and adaptable to engage further clutch assemblies on the same shaft to provide the torque required by an application, thereby increasing the torque capacity without increasing the size of the frame.
The foregoing objects are basically attained by providing a rotary clutch assembly that comprises a first hub having first and second ends, the first hub having an inner surface defined by a first internal passageway extending from the first end to the second end for receiving a shaft, one of the first and second ends of the first hub having a first notch; and a second hub having first and second ends and an outer surface, the second hub having an inner surface defined by a second internal passageway extending from the first end to the second end for receiving the first hub, one of the first and second ends of the second hub having a second notch.
Other objects, advantages and salient features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses preferred embodiments of the invention.